BJP far removed from reality, Mamata Banerjee didn’t depend on court for people’s support: suspended BJP leader Jaiprakash Majumdar

A day after the West Bengal BJP suspended its senior leaders Ritesh Tiwari and Jaiprakash Majumdar (who were earlier showcaused), for allegedly violating party discipline, both leaders held a press conference in Kolkata and bitterly criticised the party.

Majumdar said that the day Assembly election results were out, BJP leaders from Delhi were desperately looking for early flights to leave the city. “I was asked to handle the media briefing,” he said. Majumdar said that he was again asked to handle the media briefing when senior leader Mukul Roy re-joined the Trinamool from the BJP, after the Assembly polls. “But when we were showcaused and temporarily suspended, the media was informed first. No instance was mentioned as to how we may have violated party discipline,” he said.

Majumdar added that the BJP leaders in Bengal were far removed from the ordinary workers of the party and the former worked within the confines of swanky office rooms. “The ordinary BJP workers are suffering,” he said, adding that the party had become “dependent on court orders for politics”. Explaining this, Majumdar said: “Mamata Banerjee did not depend on courts to gain support of the people when she wrested power from the Left Front. The BJP in Bengal has become dependent on courts for various cases. There is no movement on the ground anywhere,” he said.

Yesterday, a statement issued by the West Bengal BJP unit said Tiwari and Majumdar have been “temporarily suspended” till the party’s disciplinary committee completes its investigation under instructions of BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar.

Tiwari said that “a coterie of leaders” who had joined BJP in recent times are acting as “agents of Trinamool Congress” and harming the party’s interests.

Meanwhile, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar told a TV channel that he wouldn’t like to react to statements made by those “who are currently not members of the party”.

The two senior BJP leaders were dropped from the new office bearers committee last year. Both were vice-presidents of the state unit in the previous committee and Majumdar was named one of the spokespersons in the new state committee announced a month ago. Tiwari was not included in the committee. Both the leaders had participated in a meeting convened by Union minister Shantanu Thakur, an influential leader of the Matua community in the state, over a week ago in Kolkata.

They were present when Thakur, the Union minister of state for ports, shipping and waterways, criticised a section of the state leaders who had allegedly overlooked 90 per cent loyal BJP leaders, including backward caste members, while forming the new committee. The union minister had held a picnic with several disgruntled BJP leaders in his Bongaon constituency a few days ago. He told reporters on Sunday that many disgruntled leaders of the party are in touch with him.